Outings

This is not a troop activity, but all scouts and their families are encouraged to attend the Youth Expo. Our BSA council puts on an annual Youth Expo, this year on the outside concourse of the Rose Bowl Stadium from 9 am to 3 pm. The only charge is for parking, $10 (free for Honda and Acura vehicles), but don't drive, ride your bike. Or hike down on the trail that begins at the east end of Devil's Gate Dam in Hahamongna Park. Many organizations, including troops and packs, set up tables with interesting activities and exhibits. Earn merit badges, try the fitness course, race your old pinewood derby car, sample scout-cooked food. Bring signed blue cards to the Expo, which you can get from Dr. Kast before you go.

Meet at 5:45 pm and take a tour of JPL until the troop meeting starts at 7 pm. You'll visit buildings 179 (Spacecraft Assembly Facility) and 230 (Space Flight Operations Facility). You must be a scout, or a parent of a scout, or a scout leader, and a US citizen or a permanent resident. The tour is limited to 40 persons. Email Mr. Goldstein and provide him with your full legal name, age and citizenship. This tour is filled, so another tour will be scheduled shortly.

Space Weekend is a family campout which will allow the scouts to work on the Space Exploration and Aviation merit badges. We will meet at 5:30 pm Friday at the Ralphs parking lot and drive 80 miles to the Forest Lawn Scout Reservation near Lake Arrowhead. The next morning we work on the Space Exploration merit badge, including building and shooting off water bottle rockets. There will be a couple of hours in the afternoon for rank advancement and (hopefully) archery. In the late afternoon we start work on the Astronomy merit badge, including a planetarium presentation by the Forest Lawn Astronomy Center. After dark there will be a star gazing activity, including use of the Astronomy Center's telescopes. We return to the Ralphs parking lot around 1 pm on Sunday. Cooking will be by patrols. Cost is $20 plus the food you buy for your patrol meals. There will be a brief meeting at the 9/12 troop meeting to form patrols and organize food and tents. Families are welcome, and can use the nearby hiking trails while the scouts work on merit badges. RSVP to Mrs. Hagegard.

Meet at 8:45 am at the parking lot of the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd. Wear long pants, closed-toe shoes and a hat, and bring work gloves and at least two liters of water in a daypack. We will walk a short distance south to the area under the Colorado St. bridge where the Arroyo Seco river has natural banks, and there we will collect trash and remove invasive species, done at noon. Scouts will earn community service hours and BSA's Messenger of Peace award patch that goes on the perimeter of the World Crest patch over the left shirt pocket of the scout uniform. RSVP to Mrs. Hagegard.

We meet at 2 pm at the Ralphs parking lot in LCF. Bring your signed activity consent form and wear your troop t-shirt and a hat. Hiking boots are preferred, but sneakers are acceptable. Wear long pants that zip-off into shorts, if you have them, otherwise wear long pants since there is poison oak next to the trail in spots. Have a backpack with the 10 essentials, a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, toothbrush and toothpaste, spoon, and some warm clothes for the evening. You should have two filled water bottles. Bring a freeze-dried dinner and a breakfast that requires only hot water (e.g., instant oatmeal), as our stoves only boil water. Also have some snacks for the trail. We drive 30 minutes up Angeles Crest Hwy to the parking lot at Red Box, at the intersection with Mt. Wilson Rd., then hike 2.3 miles down to Valley Forge trail camp. There, we'll pitch tents, filter water from the nearby stream, cook dinner, and have a campfire with marshmallows. The next morning we cook breakfast, break camp and hike the 2.3 miles uphill to Red Box, returning to the Ralphs parking lot around 11 am. Parking at Red Box requires an Adventure Pass, and the troop will supply a pass if you don't have one. This outing is for scouts and registered adults only, and it is appropriate for beginners as well as the more experienced. RSVP to Mr. Hill by Fri. night, letting him know if you have a tent and if your parent can drive or pick up. You'll be told Fri. night whether to bring your tent.

Meet at the Ralphs parking lot at 7 am wearing a hat and your Class A scout shirt with the troop t-shirt underneath, and with a signed activity consent form and a daypack with two liters of water, a sack lunch and the 10 essentials. Boots are better than sneakers since we have some water crossings. We will drive to Chantry Flat, above Arcadia, then hike to Hoegees trail camp, eat lunch, and return, a total of 5 miles. Families are welcome. There is limited parking at Chantry Flat, so we need drivers who can drop us off in the morning and come back at 2 pm to pick us up. Chantry Flat is about 20 minutes from La Canada, take the 210 freeway and exit at Santa Anita Ave., drive north on Santa Anita Ave. all the way to its end at Chantry Flat. RSVP to Mr. Goldstein.

At this troop meeting there will be a presentation about JPL's Mars project from Bill Nelson, the chief of MER engineering (Mars Exploration Rovers). Family and friends are welcome to attend with the scouts.

Spend the weekend in the snow, with sledding and patrol competitions. Eat in the cafeteria and sleep in cabins, or on Sat. night you can earn a special award for sleeping in a tent in the snow. It takes place in Idyllwild, 120 miles from La Canada, at Camp Emerson, a BSA Inland Empire Council camp. Cost is $85. RSVP to Mrs. Hagegard.

Earn the coin collecting merit badge at the Long Beach Expo Coin Show held at the Long Beach Convention Center. Wear your Class A uniform (no neckerchief or sash) to get free admission. RSVP to Mr. Walton.